Improvement in horse hat-forks



anni Wire.

' '.IxB. svvEETLAND, or,

PONTIAC, MICHIGAN.

Letters Patent No. 89,810,dated ll/J/y 4, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT 1N HORSE HAY-Fouad 'llhe Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and zlnaking part of the sarna4 To all whom 'it mwy concern:

in the county of Oakland, and in the State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Horse Hay-Fork; and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and general arrangement of a horse hay-fork, as will be hereinafter-fully set forth.

' In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains, to make and use the same,

- .I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the annexed drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side view, part in section, and Figure 2 is, an end view. 1

y A represents a metal bar, of suitable dimensions, forming the head or backbone of the fork, and from each end of which a tine, B, projects.

(l represents the handle of the fork, said handle being, at its upper` end, provided with a ring, a, to which the hoisting-rope is attached.

The handle O is, at a suitable point, slotted, and.

below this slot the handle is grooved, so as to form a convenient rest for the headAof the fork when raised.

The back, b, of this. groove does, however,- not extend to the lower` end of the handle, but leaves an open space, the sides of said groove forming rounded ears, c, between which the head A is pivoted.

This is done bya bolt, d, which passes through said pins, and also` through an elongated slot in the head AS0 that the fork may slide suiciently on said bolt e. It will beseen that the fork, thus pivoted at the lowerend of the handle, can be easily raised, when a portion of the head A will rest against the back b of A the groove in the handle, and the tines B B be placed Be it known that I, J. B. SWEETLAND, of Pontiac, f

one above the other, securely holding the hay, without any other fixture but the two tines.

The upper one-of these tines I prefer making shortery than'the lower, for obvious reasons. v

To now hold the hook in this position, I provide the upper end of the head A with a hook, d, which catches on the upper end of the back b, this'end being bevelled for that purpose.

Above the hook el, and in the slot in the handle, is pivoted a cam or lever, h, having a trip-'rope attached to one end.

By turning this cam or lever, the head A is pressed downward, the elongated slot allowing itto slide on the bolt e, so that the bevelled end of the back b enters into the hook d, and securely holds the fork in that position.

By merely raising the lever h, the weight of the hay ,and fork combined, brings the fork back in the position indicatedin red, in iig. l, a small notch, i, in the .head A, allowing the lower end of the back b to press against the head.

Having thus fully described my invention,

What' I claim as new. and desire to secure by Let-- 1. A two-timed hay-fork, when so constructed that the tines are standing or hanging one above the other, substantially as shown and described.

2. The hook pd, when constructed substantially as described, and used in connection with the adjustable handle G, as herein set forth.

In testimony that "I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand, this 6th day of July, 1868.

, V J. B. SWEETLAND. Witnesses: l p

' A. W. Blmr'r,

ENooH M. Binnen.` 

